Get the Point!
Objective
Students will learn about cattle drives by reading informative text. They will
summarize the information in writing listing significant information.
Students will measure objects using inches and centimeters. They will also
graph data and interpret the information from the graph.
Background
ranching was developed by the Spanish, who taught it to the people who
lived in the area we now know as mexico. In the beginning, ranch hands did
all their work on foot. only the privileged Spanish ranchers rode horses. In
time, the ranchers discovered their workers needed to move more quickly to
avoid the deadly long horns and feisty temperaments of their cattle. So the
mexican vaqueros, or cowboys, became skilled riders. They were the models
for the American cowboy.
The first American cowboys rounded up wild longhorn cattle in Texas
Territory and drove them north to railway stops like Dodge City, Kansas.
There the cattle would be herded into railroad cars and sent to the eastern
United States to provide meat for the people living there.
many of the longhorns that made the first cattle drives were gathered in a
criminal way. Texas cowboys would cross into mexico, gather wandering
cattle, and drive them back across the rio Grande river into land not governed by mexican laws. The longhorns may have been marked in some fashion by the vaqueros—by ear notching or branding—but in Texas Territory it
did not matter.
eventually ranch wars over longhorn cattle erupted along the river. Hired
cowboys on both sides of the river would cross to steal longhorns, only to
have them stolen back by cowboys on the other side. many cowboys were
killed in these wars.
one of the most famous longhorn steers, old Blue, was owned by
Charles Goodnight, a Texas rancher who blazed the Goodnight - Loving Trail
to make way for other ranchers who would come later. old Blue was a lead
steer. one characteristic of cattle and other herd animals is that they always
follow the lead of a dominant member. These natural leaders are the first to
cross streams, gullies and other obstacles, showing the others the way.
old Blue made the long trek from west Texas to Dodge City eight times,
leading an estimated 10,000 head of cattle. After his last cattle drive, old
Blue was turned out to live his final days in leisure, in a pasture near the
Goodnight ranch. When he died, his massive horns were mounted and hung
in the Goodnight ranch office.
www.agclassroom.org/ok
Oklahoma C3
Standards
Grade 3
Social Studies PALS—
1.A.1,2,3,B.5,C.7,8;
2.A.2,C.7; 3.A.2
Social Studies Content—
2.1,3; 4.6
Common Core
Language Arts—
3.rI.1,2,3,7,8; 3.W.2abcd,7;
3.L.1,2,3,4d
math Practice—1,4,5,6
math Content—3.mD.3
Grade 5
Social Studies PALS—
1.A.1,2,3,B.5; 2.A.2,B7
Social Studies Content—
1.2b,4
Common Core
Language Arts—
4.rI.1,2,3,7; 4.W.2abcde,7;
4.L.1,2,3,4c,5c
math Practice—1,4,5,6
math Content—4.nBT.3;
4.mD.1
Language arts/Social Studies
Materials
rulers with inches and
centimeter markings
graphing paper
masking tape
Vocabulary
adapt—to make or
become suitable
branding—a mark indicating identity or ownership, burned, tattooed or
painted on an animals coat
or hide
ear notching—cutting
notches into an animal’s
ears for identification purposes
feisty—having or showing
a lively aggressiveness
feral—domesticated animal living in the wild
longhorn—the descendants of cattle with long
curving horns which the
Spanish explorer Coronado
originally brought to the
north American continent
ranching—the work
involved in raising and
caring for livestock
temperament—disposition
vaqueros—mexican cowboys
1. read and discuss background and vocabulary
2. Hand out copies of the reading worksheet, “Get the Point.”
—As a class, read the brief history of longhorn cattle and discuss their
effect on the American cattle industry.
—Students will use the information to answer the questions.
—Discuss student answers as a class.
Math
1. review with students the steps required to measure an item and to convert the information into real numbers using a scale measurement.
2. Hand out copies of the “measuring Longhorn Horns” worksheet.
—Students will follow directions on the worksheet.
3. on the floor of your classroom, have students mark off the spans between
the horns of longhorn steer using the measurements from their student
worksheets.
4. Hand out the chart showing the number of cattle driven to market
between 1867 and 1881.
—Students will use the information to answer the questions.
—Ask students if they can think of reasons for the change in numbers.
(For the first five years, the number of longhorn cattle leaving Texas
increased steadily. An oversupply brought prices down dramatically, and
two years later a crippling depression hit.)
—Students will use an apropriate graphing tool to organize their data
(excel spread sheet, line plot, pictograph.) review graphing information
from the website:
http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/aitc/lessons/upper/graphs.pdf
extra reading
mcPherson, James m., Into the West, Atheneum, 2006.
murdoch, David Hamilton, Cowboy, eyewitness Books, Knopf, 1993.
Schlissel, Lillian, Black Frontiers: A History of African American Heroes in
the Old West, Simon and Schuster for Young readers, 2000.
www.agclassroom.org/ok
name ______________________________________________________________
Get the Point!
Texas longhorn cattle are the descendants of cattle that Christopher Columbus brought
to the new World on his second visit, in 1493. The cattle provided fresh meat for early
Spanish settlers and were used for trading.
The cattle were allowed to roam freely in the wide open spaces of the new World.
over time, some of the cattle wandered away. These untame, or feral, longhorns crossed freely between
mexico and Texas Territory.
Longhorns adapt easily to rapid weather changes and will try to eat all types of grasses. They are a
healthy breed and can travel a great distance without much water.
Soldiers returning from the Civil War heard grand tales of fat cattle wandering free over unclaimed Texas
land. many were eager to round up their own herds of longhorn cattle and try their hands at ranching.
The demand for fresh beef, the development of refrigeration and the expanding railroad drove the price
of cattle up. But the cattle had to be delivered to the railroad stops, where they could be loaded and transported to the eastern states. The only way to get them to market in Wichita or Abilene, Kansas, was to walk
them. The solution was the famous cattle drives of the old West.
1. What is an antonym for the word “feral?”
2. What does it mean that longhorns “adapt” easily to rapid weather changes? Look in a dictionary to see if
your definition was correct.
3. explain why soldiers returning from the Civil War would be interested in rounding up longhorn cattle.
4. What three things drove up the price of cattle after the Civil War? name some things that might drive up
prices today.
5. Look on a map of the US to see where the cattle had to walk to get from Texas to Kansas. What state or
states did they have to walk through?
6. Write a summary of this reading selection and list the most significant details.
oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the oklahoma Cooperative extension Service, the oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the oklahoma State Department of education.
name ______________________________________________________________
Get the Point! (answers)
read the following passage about longhorn cattle and then answer the questions below. Write your answers in
complete sentences.
Texas longhorn cattle are the descendants of cattle that Christopher Columbus brought
to the new World on his second visit, in 1493. The cattle provided fresh meat for early
Spanish settlers and were used for trading.
The cattle were allowed to roam freely in the wide open spaces of the new World.
over time, some of the cattle wandered away. These untame, or feral, longhorns crossed freely between
mexico and Texas Territory.
Longhorns adapt easily to rapid weather changes and will try to eat all types of grasses. They are a
healthy breed and can travel a great distance without much water.
Soldiers returning from the Civil War heard grand tales of fat cattle wandering free over unclaimed Texas
land. many were eager to round up their own herds of longhorn cattle and try their hands at ranching.
The demand for fresh beef, the development of refrigeration and the expanding railroad drove the price
of cattle up. But the cattle had to be delivered to the railroad stops, where they could be loaded and transported to the eastern states. The only way to get them to market in Wichita or Abilene, Kansas, was to walk
them. The solution was the famous cattle drives of the old West.
1. What is an antonym for the word “feral?”
The word “tame” is an antonym for the word “feral.”
2. What does it mean that longhorns “adapt” easily to rapid weather changes? Look in a dictionary to see if
your definition was correct.
Longhorns can get along in any kind of weather.
3. explain why soldiers returning from the Civil War would be interested in rounding up longhorn cattle.
Soldiers returning from the war were young men looking for a way to make a living. They could make
money by rounding up the cattle and driving them to the railway stops in Kansas.
4. What three things drove up the price of cattle after the Civil War? name some things that might drive up
prices today.
The demand for fresh beef, the development of refrigeration and the expanding railroad drove the price
of cattle up. Today high demand for a product and new technology can cause prices to go up.
5. Look on a map of the US to see where the cattle had to walk to get from Texas to Kansas. What state or
states did they have to walk through?
The cattle had to walk through oklahoma to get to Kansas.
oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the oklahoma Cooperative extension Service, the oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the oklahoma State Department of education.
name______________________________________________________________________________
Measuring Longhorn Horns
measure the span between the tips of each longhorn’s horns. measure the spans in inches and then in centimeters. Use the scale measure at the bottom of the page to convert the inches into feet.
measure
1. _________inches
_________centimeters
_________feet
2. ______inches
______centimeters
______feet
3. ______inches
______centimeters
______feet
4. ______inches
______centimeters
______feet
5. ______inches
______centimeters
______feet
6. ______inches
______centimeters
______feet
1 inch = 2 foot
oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the oklahoma Cooperative extension Service, the oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the oklahoma State Department of education.
name______________________________________________________________________________
Get the Point! (answers)
(CAUTIon: meASUremenTS mAY vArY DUe To DIFFerenCeS In PrInTerS.)
measure
1. 2 3/4 in.
6.35 cm.
5 1/2 ft.
4. 1 3/4 inches
4.445 cm.
3 1/2 ft.
5. 1 1/2 in.
3.81 cm.
3 ft.
2. 2 in.
5.08 cm.
4 ft.
3. 2 1/4 in.
5.715 cm.
4 1/2 ft.
5. 1 in.
2.54 cm.
2 ft.
1 inch = 2 foot
oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the oklahoma Cooperative extension Service, the oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the oklahoma State Department of education.
name______________________________________________________________________________
Cattle driven to market, 1867-1881
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151,618
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321,998
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201,159
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265,646
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257,927
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394,784
1881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250,000
1. In which year were the most cattle shipped to market?
2. In which year were the fewest number of cattle shipped to market?
3. Write each number in expanded form.
4. round each number to the nearest 1,000 and then estimate the total number of cattle that
went to market during this 15-year period. Work in a small group to compare your answer
with others in the group and form a consensus about the correct answer.
5. Calculate the range_________, mean_____________, median______________ and
mode____________.
6. Use this information to create a graph. Be sure to include a title and key if needed.
oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the oklahoma Cooperative extension Service, the oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the oklahoma State Department of education.
name______________________________________________________________________________
Cattle driven to market (answers)
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166,000
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151,618
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321,998
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201,159
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265,646
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257,927
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394,784
1881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250,000
1.
2.
3.
4.
In which year were the most cattle shipped to market? 1871
In which year were the fewest number of cattle shipped to market? 1867
Write each number in expanded form.
round each number to the nearest 1,000 and then estimate the total number of cattle that
went to market during this 15-year period. Work in a small group to compare your answer
with others in the group and form a consensus about the correct answer. 4,114,000
4. Calculate the range 215,000, mean 274,266.66, median 265,646 and mode 350,000.
5. Use this information to create a graph. Be sure to include a title and key if needed.
oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the oklahoma Cooperative extension Service, the oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the oklahoma State Department of education.